Bandar Abbas refinery is one of the largest in Iran
Several people were killed and injured in an explosion at the Bandar Abbas oil refinery in southern Iran on Thursday, according to state media.
A fire was reported at the site shortly before noon local time, according to the state-run IRNA news outlet.
No other details were immediately available.
Officials are yet to comment on the incident, IRNA added.
Industrial accidents are common in Iran.
In December, two oil refineries caught fire in the space of a week.
Four people were wounded in a fire at an Isfahan refinery, with at least one person hospitalised for severe burns, Iran International reported just days after a fire destroyed the newly-inaugurated Birjand oil refinery in South Khorasan.
The incident caused at least $14 million in damages, Khorasan’s deputy governor told the state-affiliated Iranian Students’ News Agency.
One person was killed and four others wounded in a gas leak at the refinery, one of Iran’s largest, in September. Earlier in the year, eight firefighters were injured while responding to a blaze in the Aftab Oil refinery complex in the port city.
In 2021, one person died in a pipeline explosion near the Gulf coast, and nine died in a blast at a plant producing explosive materials in central Iran.
Outdated technology is a contributing factor, although Iran has also blamed its arch foe Israel for some attacks.
Israel has denied targeting Iranian oil facilities.
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